“No longer will I be there to knock on your door, so you must learn to knock for yourself. Knock, knock down the doors that I could not.”
Knock Knock, My Dad’s Dream For Me by: Daniel Beaty, A Corretta Scott King Award winner is a fitting book to leave my Black History Month Multicultural Children’s Book Celebration. It is an amazing book that shows what happens when one day a young boy’s father is no longer there to knock on his door and wake him up in the morning.
I should warn you that this is not an easy book to read. The language is very simple, but what it is saying is very heavy and as a father, I personally have never been able to get through without crying. The kids always ask my why I am crying, and if I am ok- they are too sweet. I just hug them, and tell them how happy is makes me to be their dad.
Of course they think I’m weird and overly dramatic- which I am.
The message of empowerment, strength, and survival pours out of every page. This little young boy slowly begins to realize that he will never see his father again. It is about disappointment, anger, confusion, rebirth, determination, success and happiness- all in 15 or so odd pages. It is about not letting our past determine our future. The author, Daniel Beaty, wrote this book based on his own fatherless journey to adulthood. He says, “This experience prompted me to tell the story of this loss from a child’s perspective and also to offer hope that every fatherless child can still create the most beautiful life possible.”
As I head down to Washington D.C. for Dad 2.0- “an open conversation about the commercial power of dads online, and an opportunity to learn the tools and tactics used by influential bloggers to create high-quality content, build personal brands, and develop business ideas.” I am reminded that the root of all this- is fatherhood. We are doing our best to prepare them for the time, some sooner than others, when we will not be there to knock knock on their door anymore. It is them that will be doing the knocking.
For Black History Month 2020, I wanted to showcase some amazing books that have been read, reread, forgotten, discovered, and reread yet again. I will be publishing each book on every Tuesday and Thursday throughout February. These are books for every level ; some for a ride in the stroller while others are longer, young adult books. Regardless of the anyones age, these are books that have a positive, progressive social message, or strong minority and/or female characters. They promote understanding of difference, diversity, and inclusion. By being exposed to diverse characters and stories- we teach our children, and ourselves, empathy, respect for others, and visibility to the many other cultures besides our own.